Maryland coach Randy Edsall received terrible news yesterday when he found out that starting quarterback C.J. Brown will miss the season with a torn ACL. As the Terrapins try to bounce back from a 2-10 season, these players need to step up to get Maryland moving in the right direction.
Offense: Senior tight end Matt Furstenburg was named to the preseason all-conference team, and he needs to live up to the expectations with Brown out for the season. If Furstenburg is a reliable target, that could make things easier for true freshman quarterback Perry Hills. Furstenburg caught 31 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns in 2011, but he didn’t have more than 23 receiving yards in any of the team’s last six games.
Defense: Maryland linebacker Kenny Tate was an all-conference safety after his sophomore year in 2010. He made the move to linebacker last year and started the first four games and had 35 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss with two interceptions. Tate then suffered a season-ending knee injury. If he can return to form and stay healthy, Tate will be a difference maker in new defensive coordinator Brian Stewart’s 3-4 defense.
Special teams: Edsall announced earlier this week that freshman wide receiver Stefon Diggs is atop the depth chart at both kick returner and punt returner. “He’s shown that he can do things,” Edsall said. “We’ve just got to continue to coach him up and teach him all the little intricacies of being a return guy, but also how to read blocks - not only the people coming down and how to set some of those things up.” If Diggs can make an impact on special teams, that will help out an offense that faces a lot of questions after Brown’s injury.
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